Since Niger and Mali exposed that Ukraine, a nation heavily reliant on the United States for military and economic support, is supporting terrorism in the Sahel, this has starkly exposed the contradictions inherent in AFRICOM's mission on the African continent. AFRICOM was established under the premise of combating terrorism and ensuring stability in Africa. However, if a U.S.-backed government is actively aiding terrorist groups in the Sahel, it suggests that AFRICOM's role may not be as straightforward as it claims. Instead, it could be seen as part of a broader strategy that perpetuates instability and conflict in Africa, thereby justifying its continued presence and expanding influence under the guise of fighting terrorism.
This scenario would lend credence to the belief that AFRICOM's true purpose is not to eliminate terrorism but rather to maintain a perpetual state of conflict and dependency on the continent. By fostering instability, AFRICOM ensures that African states remain reliant on U.S. military support, which aligns with the strategic interests of the U.S. and its European and other allies in securing access to Africa's vast natural resources.
The purpose of AFRICOM is to make African militaries so integrated and dependent on US technologies and support as to make them easy to control and direct towards imperial interests whether that be by standing up, standing down, committing assassinations, committing coups, protecting coups, among other atrocities. Africans become the face of U.S. imperialism on the continent to protect against unwanted scrutiny while still maintaining U.S. access to African resources.
Join us for the International Month of Action Against AFRICOM in October to demonstrate our opposition to these designs.
U.S. Out of Africa: Voices from the Struggle
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin spoke with Inemesit Richardson, the co-founder of The Thomas Sankara Center for African Liberation and Unity (@Burkinabooks), a Pan-African library and political education center based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso where she resides. She is an organizer with the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) and All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union (A-AWRU). She is also a journalist with African Stream.
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: The AES confederation was recently established as a transitional step before forming a federation. Can you explain the significance of this move and how it has been received by the people in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger?
Inemisit Richardson: The AES confederation is a huge move not just for the countries of the Sahel, but for Africa as a whole because it opens a pathway to sovereignty for the entire continent. This brings us one step closer to a totally unified Africa. Of course, we understand that it will take a high level of class struggle and revolution in order for the confederation to expand, but that is the real aspiration of the civilians within the AES and their leaders. The people want the AES states to form a nucleus for the broader Pan-African liberation struggle. The heads of state of the three countries have also emphasized the importance of African unity in this sense. Having visited all three AES countries, the strong desire for a singular ‘United States of Africa’ per the vision of Kwame Nkrumah, Modibo Keita, Cheikh Anta Diop and many others is abundantly clear and cannot be overstated. In the meantime, the AES countries have formed a confederation with a shared foreign policy which is built upon the principle of multipolarity– a value popularly evoked by civilians in this region of the world– and anti-imperialism as proven by their tremendous strides away from western neo-colonial rule. People across the Sahel celebrated the creation of the confederation with pride and excitement. Many organizations, including the Thomas Sankara Centre, also recognize that we have a lot of work to do to build a federation to regroup the Sahel, and all of Africa, into one single country with a shared government and citizenship.
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: The Thomas Sankara Center has co-authored a declaration calling for a federation of the AES states. What are the main challenges the AES faces in transitioning from a confederation to a federation, and how can these be addressed? What role do grassroots movements and civil society organizations play in pushing this agenda forward?
Inemisit Richardson: Well, transforming a confederation into a federation is no easy feat. It has been attempted on various historical occasions and has often failed due to heavy imperialist meddling. Right now Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are all in the midst of a major security crisis. Paramilitary death squads known as ‘terrorists’ in the post-9/11 language of US foreign policy, have wreaked havoc on various subregions of the three states since the NATO invasion of Libya in 2011. It was in the aftermath of Muammar Gaddafi’s assassination that rebel groups first accessed the slain leader’s governmental weapon stash to bring arms into the Sahel. Since that time, the Sahel has become a highly militarized and, in some key places, dangerous zone. In reality, these paramilitary death squads are not so different from the Contras that sought to destroy Nicaragua in the 1980s or the death squads that the United States supported in El Salvador. This security crisis is the biggest thing slowing down the creation of a Sahel federation. To give an example of what this looks like in practice, in January of 2023, Burkina Faso’s prime minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla met with the prime ministers of Mali and Guinea (Guinea was friendly towards Mali and Burkina Faso for a brief moment) in order to propose the creation of a railway system linking the three states. Apart from Guinea’s distancing from the revolutionary Sahel states, the other reason this did not move forward is likely due to the fact that this endeavor would require building miles of railway tracks over lands that have been seized by these violent death squads. That is why security has been the first and the preeminent focus of the AES leaders as well as many of the AES citizens who have chosen to take up arms and go to the frontlines in recent times.
With that being said, there is very little that has happened within the AES that did not begin first as a call emanating from the grassroots. The reason why AES leaders are so beloved by their people is because they have consistently submitted to the people’s will. There would not even be an Alliance of Sahel States in any form if the AES leaders did not listen to the cries of their people to form one. Mass mobilisations led by civil society organizations called for the removal of French troops from the soils of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. The leaders heard this call and followed the demands of their people. Niger was at the vanguard of calling for the expulsion of US troops as well, civilians having protested against AFRICOM’s presence for many years. Thus, Niger became the first African country in history to give AFRICOM the boot. Civilians in all three countries have organized mass demonstrations in favor of increased Russian partnership. Today Russia is the closest partner to the AES states apart from one another. And what started these mobilizations? Here in Burkina Faso, these mobilizations emerged in response to Assimi Goïta’s political direction and the revolution in Mali. The very first cries of the people across the Sahel as the tides were beginning to turn was to join the Malian people and their government, to become one with Mali. So Pan-Africanism was always at the base of these revolutions. Now it is up to grassroots organizations across the AES to raise their voices and push hard for the creation of this federation by any means necessary. The people know what they want and need. It is only a matter of organizing properly to get it.
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: The AES has called for closer collaboration with states like Russia, Iran, and the DPRK. What are the strategic benefits of these alliances, and how do they align with the goals of the AES?
Inemisit Richardson: As aforementioned, the people of the AES were the first to raise their voices and call for close collaboration with Russia. The average person in the Sahel has a very sharp analysis of world geopolitics. People know that France, the US, and other western countries have exploited Africa and plundered its resources. They also know that there is a new camp emerging in the world and that Russia is at the forefront of it. They recognize that, unlike the western powers, Russia did not colonize their ancestors, does not control their monetary system, has never assassinated their leaders, has never carried out coups d'etat deposing progressive leaders, has never rigged African elections, does not send its own private companies to dominate Africa’s local economy, does not trap Africa in predatory loans, does not control the Bretton Woods institutions, and has been relatively non-interventionist towards Africa in general. For this reason, the overwhelming majority in the Sahel strongly prefer Russian partnership. People in the Sahel today are very perceptive and understand the strategies and tactics of imperialism. They know that the current imperialist talking point is that ‘both sides are bad’ or that they need ‘neither Russia nor France’ and they don’t fall for this rhetoric anymore.
People also appreciate partnerships with Iran for similar reasons. Iran is a powerful country that has a great capacity to defend itself and resist imperialist aggression. Countries like Russia and Iran are important to the people of the Sahel because, beyond collaborating within the areas of security, they offer the AES countries a pathway towards industrialization through the creation of factories, refineries, and power plants. That is how you know that Russia and Iran are not neo-colonial powers imposing themselves on Africa. The number one goal of the imperialist system is to maintain Africa’s status as a producer of raw materials. The west has worked tirelessly to prevent technology transfers and the development of the industry as that would allow Africa to become self-sufficient and compete with the west at their level of production.
Finally, people are excited about the new relationship being forged with the DPRK because, here in Burkina Faso in particular, people remember the extent to which the DPRK was a friend of the Sankara revolution. Thomas Sankara visited Pyongyang on multiple occasions. There are even rumors that the Burkinabe national anthem, with lyrics written by Thomas Sankara, was composed by a North Korean. People also fly the North Korean flag at a lot of rallies because they know that the flag is a symbol that western countries find threatening or upsetting.
Burkina Faso is also establishing new relationships with Nicaragua, which just opened its first West African embassy in Ouagadougou at the beginning of this year, and with Venezuela. Nicaragua is also a country that Burkinabe remember very fondly during the Sankara-era as Sankara was very outspoken about defending the Sandinista and made two trips to the country. Venezuela has also long been on Burkina Faso’s radar as the Burkinabe have paid very close attention to the Bolivarian revolution over the years.
News and Analysis
African states call for UN action against Ukraine
August 21, 2024 by RT
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have written to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding action against Ukraine for its alleged involvement in a rebel attack that killed dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian military contractors.
The Imperialist Attack on the Alliance of Sahel States
August 14, 2024, by Essam Elkorghli, Kribsoo Diallo, and Matteo Capasso
The recent attack on Mali has the fingerprints of Western imperialism all over it. This series of events is part of the tried and true imperialist method of creating the conditions for intervention by sewing chaos and terror. This cyclical process must be broken through revolutionary action.
August 14, 2024, by Abayomi Azikiwe
The United States proxy war against the Russian Federation continues to impact the African continent.
Gerald Horne - Ukraine Spreading ‘Terrorism’ Around the World –Kiev is Doing the Bidding of the West
August 8, 2024, by Activist News Network
Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of History at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, on The Critical Hour discussing the news that Ukraine is Spreading ‘Terrorism’ Around the World –Kiev is Doing the Bidding of the West
Mali’s Position is Clear: The Kiev Regime is a Terrorist State
August 5, 2024, by Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov
Mali decided to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine, labeling the Kiev regime as a supporter of international terrorism. The move follows Ukraine's alleged involvement in supporting terrorist groups in northern Mali, which led to the deaths of Malian soldiers.
The Ruthless and Desperate Pursuit of U.S. Influence and Access Over Africa
July 31, 2024, by Netfa Freeman
AFRICOM is growing more bold in its attempts to maintain dominance over the African continent. Now is the time for Pan-African and Black Nationalist forces to organize to sabotage those efforts and support the masses struggling to free themselves from the yoke of imperialism.
US-AFRICOM Attempts to Open a New War Front Against Russia in Libya
July 2, 2024, by Habib Lassoued
The geopolitical tensions in Libya remain high, with U.S. officials reportedly pressuring Libyan factions to distance themselves from Moscow, potentially escalating into a broader proxy war involving regional and international powers.
Burkina Faso: La Patrie ou la Mort… Venceremos
June 28, 2024, by Inemisit Richardson
Thomas Sankara's ideology had an enduring impact and the connections between Burkina Faso's revolutionary past and present, including ties with states like Cuba and Nicaragua.
Banner photo: Mali Rebels display Ukraine Flag (courtesy youtube.com/@CRUXnews.)